How Committed is Marriott to the Environment

Am I alone in believing that Marriott (along with most of its competitors in the hospitality industry) is not doing its share for the environment?

In every Marriott hotel room I find an appeal to help the environment by reusing towels. I feel that these requests are actually insincere for obvious reasons. If they want me to reuse towels, why don't they provide towel racks where the towel can dry? When there used to be more towel racks in every bath I used to reuse towels for a few days, when on an extended stay. Now, that is not possible because the towels won't dry when they are piled up rather than hanging. About 15 or twenty years ago the entire hotel industry started replacing some of their towel racks in the bathroom with pictures that were somehow supposed to enhance the appearance of the bath.

While on the subject of the environment, why doesn't Marriott provide recycle baskets in our rooms, in addition to trash bins?

Not that I don't completely agree with you, but we just soil another towel to wipe down either the top of the shower or the bathtub curtain rods and hang the bath towels over those. At least we are trying.

More of an industry-wide question in many ways. Marriott (and others) do have plenty to show for in terms of efficiency programs, sustainability programs, LEED properties, recycling options and programs, shuttles, bikes, and even bringing customers into the loop with their 'green' programs.

Of course they, and we, could do more to make green commitments at our hotel stays.

What exactly did you have in mind from a company point of view? Or was it a specific property that was well behind the times on efficient use of resources?

I'd like a recycle bin in each roorm, in addition to the trash containers.

Finally, I'd like to see a system like I've seen in many European hotels, where you cannot turn on the lights without inserting a room key in a slot. This makes it more difficult for people to leave the lights on when no one is in the room.

phctourist you have some great points. To be fair to Marriott though, I think towel racks or hooks are quite common in most rooms in the US. In terms of recycle bins, you are right and that rooms do not have them (that I have seen). However, I have seen some in lobbies, it could be easily improved.

All that mentioned though, I still agree with you and think they could do more. The link I sent you references 2015 goals on their website. While I looked for more recent press, I found some, but not as comprehensive. The focus has broadened into supply chain, ethics, and human elements (volunteering, donations, human trafficking training, rewards points donations) which is worth applauding, even if some other areas still deserve improvement too.

flexibletravels You are correct in that all Marriott rooms have towel racks. However, my wife & I each use a hand towel or two and a bath towel each. Most rooms do not have enough towel rack space to hang that many towels, let alone, enough for a family with two children.

Rooms used to have an additional rack but now there is usually a picture on the wall where those additional racks used to be.

kincaid, are you aware there is a very similar program at most Marriotts? I realize the names may slightly differ, but you can opt out of housekeeping, thereby saving on linens, towels etc for up to three consecutive days.